The secret dog park!

Yesterday when Elizabeth was Yelping, she discovered that Alameda has two dog parks... One is near our apartment, with two separate sections. One section is a small dog park for dogs less than 30 lbs, and the other is the big dog park for dogs over 30 lbs. This park is pretty active and gets mixed reviews in Yelp. We have been hesitant to take Maki to this one because he tends to overwhelm very easily, and could just get really excited and spiral out of control. Therefore we have not yet taken him to this place.

The other park that Elizabeth found on Yelp is described as the "secret" Alameda dog park. It was described as a less luxurious canine accommodation and thus less crowded... which in our case was perfect!

We went over to find this new dog park, however this was much harder than we anticipated. We drove through a section of the former naval base in Almeda. This place is really creepy and cool all at once. It is quite hard to describe, this area has the look of a ghost town but with pockets of people living in random areas. After searching and looking and being freaked out, we finally found the allusive park. To our surprise people were there! So we decided to continue to drive and hope for them to leave. After a little bit the people and their dogs left, we parked and almost immediately two other cars arrived... we decided to stay.

Maki was released from the leash and decided that none of our toys were adequate for him. Not to worry because he soon saw the other dog that had arrived and decided to go play. The initial meeting went wonderfully! But this dog loved its ball! Then another dog arrived, this dog was older and very mellow. This meeting didn't go as well but was not bad by any means. Maki decided the other "ball" dog was more interesting, however this dog didn't share the same thought for Maki. This led to Maki's first dog fight in our presence. It was quick and there was no clear winner, but we decided to go to the other side of the dog park.

This was a good decision since we came to discover that Maki really likes chasing sticks! so we had a good session of fetch! completely ignored the balls and rope, but sticks are good! We ended the day by having a little photo session of him and both of us... separately. Overall this day was a success!!!!!

- Daniel

Take Your Dog to Work Day...Week...Month?

Take Your Dog to Work Day, or Week or Month?












Maki's week has been filled with new lessons for doggy and owner. We started the week continuing the "bring your dog to work" theme which is getting a little tiresome. He requires one and a half, cloth, reusable grocery bags full of stuff...toys, 3 towels, food, water dish, treats, poop bags, and blanket. The remaining half is left for my items. Then there's his bed and bedding which gets tucked under my arm, his huge crate which folds down into a somewhat heavy, bulky entity and finally Maki on his leash. If it's a great day I can usually manage it in two trips with him spending a short time chilling in the car. But after a week of twice a day schlepping his stuff I'm wishing he could learn to suck it up and stay home without barking his head off. Come on Maki be a team player!

However, I am very happy to have a pup that rides excellently in the car. He's very content to plop down and snooze during the commute.

Barking

I'd love to report that Maki has improved on his separation anxiety and barking however he actually seems to have taken a step back, at least at home. He also has the lovely habit of deciding that barking during work meetings is very pleasant for everyone! He resides in his crate in my shared office during the day however I don't actually spend a significant amount of time in the office due to the fact that most of my work is done in the lab. If there are other people in the office he's fine, no barking. But sometimes he's all by his lonesome and that's when he finds it appealing to complain. The amount of time that is required before he complains is a bit variable given his mood. Occasionally he'll only last 10 minutes but other times he's gone 40 minutes to an hour.

At home it's another story, he was pretty predictable last weekend barking after 25 - 30 minutes but I think we slacked off during the week and didn't do enough sessions and now he starts whining and barking after only 15 minutes, ugh.

Attempts at Preoccupying the Mind of Maki While We're Away

We've been on a quest to find a toy and or other item to distract Maki's mind away from dwelling on our departure. It's been completely unsuccessful. We've tried ball toys, chew toys, rope toys, plush toys to no avail. Our next attempt was at chewable foods like bones, dental chews, meat sticks, flavored plastic bones, treat stuffed Kong bones, peanut butter smeared Kong stick and nothing does the trick. He of course loves many of these items while we're sitting there in his company or even in the next room over however as soon as we go out the door he loses all interest in his wonderful cheweys and toys and fixates on the door! Here's some pics of his toys and chewables. We've determines that he's a "strong chewer" after he destroyed a kong bone and a nylabone rated for "moderate chewers." I actually like to describe him as a "veroicious chewer!" We're still passing $$'s in hopes of the super Maki resistant toy!

-Elizabeth

The Albino Monkey

This entry is dedicated to Maki's favorite plush toy, The Albino Monkey (TAM). TAM gets both great and horrible treatment all at once. When he first was introduced to Maki, Maki ignored him and did not wish to play with him. This changed quickly, when TAM's ear got ripped off in a friendly interchange with Maki. After this Maki has been more than extra careful with the little TAM. When moving TAM, Maki makes sure that there is enough pressure in his jaw to grab him but not make him squeak (TAM has a build in squeaker). This careful handling went on until recently, when Maki decided to partially amputate TAM's left leg. Now the leg has become a new fixation, with chewing licking and more (just the leg though). TAM gets moved around to make sure he is in the middle of the action or snuggling. Also TAMs other ear has been partially ripped. The most surprising thing of all is that Maki has not yet destroyed the tail!! not even a little bit! Here is a picture of Maki and TAM:


Overall TAM is the only toy that Maki really likes. He starting to like a rope toy and a little sandal looking thing, but that is about it. Although today when we were outside he really liked sticks! he would not chase balls but loves sticks!

- Daniel

President's Day with Maki and Mommy

Today I had the day off of work so I was home with Maki. I was supposed to do more separation training but it was a bit difficult due to the fact that yesterday sucked and he barked so much, I didn't want to piss off the neighbors more. I did manage to do a couple 20min sessions and a 30min, all successful! Then we did one more when Dan came home, again successful! However, 30min is usually his threshold so I'm not sure if this is improvement of just good reinforcement.

We went for a couple walks today including an hour long walk from 3-4 which went really well before meltdown. Here's a quick summary...

Peed in many bushes and on many trees

Walked very close to a not intimidated cat : success! curious but not obsessive

Avoided walking on grates in the sidewalk and pretty much any thing that resembles a grate?? what? why is he suddenly afraid of grates? We worked on this a little and he sat on a grate :)

Got barked at by a yapper in a car and a fenced dog : curious but not overly

At the end of the walk saw a greyhound dog across the street : agitated and interested but manageable

And then the meltdown : We were heading back to the complex apparently when everyone else had decided to take their dogs out for a walk and we were trapped like rats! We got to a corner where a lady was attempting to settle her fluffy pup by packing him full of treats but as we were halfway across the street the fluffy puppy fought through the mouth full of treats and got off a couple of barks. At the same moment Maki noticed a guy with a Boston Terrier on the sidewalk where we were headed, he freaked and started barking at fluffy and pulling vigorously. Finally got him headed the right direction but there was the Boston Terrier also be stuffed with treats and Wearing a Sweater!! Maki was unglued and barked at him and pulled like an ox. I lost it and started saying no to his barking, he kinda stopped but wasn't exactly sure what I was saying "no" to. We past the sweater wearing terrier and he caught a glimpse of a black lab across the street, dammit he pulls like a mad man. I try to get him to sit and settle down, which he surprisingly obeys my sit commands but is fixated at looking around for all the dogs. Finally I get him back in our complex zone and up into the apartment! Crash landing but we survived.

- Elizabeth

A Very Rough Day...

Let me start the post by wishing my wonderful girlfriend a very, very happy birthday! We decided to go and get some brunch at a really good Mexican restaurant in Oakland, the Huarache Azteca. It was a really good brunch, with mariachis, huaraches, and quesadillas. The lunch was about 2 hours long and was used as a joint birthday and training exercise for Maki. Like Elizabeth mentioned, the little guy has some separation anxiety. So we are trying to leave and reinforce that we will be back. To track his behavior, we developed "Maki Vision (TM)". The system consists of Elizabeth's camcorder and my MacBook both recording different areas of the apartment. With this we can monitor his actions and hear what he does. While home, he knows that he is not allowed on the couches. However, when we leave he decides that both couches are the most comfortable places in the house.

After checking out the couches, Maki had an one hour and fifteen minute session of barking and whining. It was excruciatingly painful to watch. So much that it actually got to my and Elizabeth's nerves quite a bit. Now we are re-working the leaving the house technique so that he knows that we are coming back. We also have to ignore him for a little while which is proving to be quite hard for me, he is so lovable!! Hopefully the neighbors won't hate us... I might end up writing them a little apology letter and drooping it in their mailboxes... maybe.


With all the issues... we still love the little lazy dog! He is definitely a handful, but very sweet!

- Daniel

Bringing home Maki, or not

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Maki was scheduled to have his neutering surgery Monday afternoon. I called around 3:30pm and was told to pick him up by 5:30p. When I arrived to pick him up the nurse gave me his instructions and said he was a very sweet puppy however they had been teasing him because he didn't look anything like a whippet! The vet carried out a very drowsy, floppy puppy and I thought he must have gotten quite a bath because his fur looked much shorter and his coloring was different. Then I petted his head and looked at his face and thought, "wow he looks really weird!" I checked his paws knowing that our little Maki has one white front paw and one black, this puppy had no white feet!!! I informed the vet that "This is not my dog!" She was a little confused at first but then it was determined that the shelter had brought the wrong dog in! Quite disappointing but also very funny! The poor little puppy in the next cage over got neutered without having a nice home to go to :(

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

I arrived at the vet to find the correct puppy, Maki!! He had been a great little boy for his surgery and was sent home with pain meds, antibiotics for kennel cough and a conehead collar in case he started to lick his incision (although the he was good about licking and didn't require the collar). He arrived at his new home, gave it a quick inspection, attempted to mark his territory but quickly learned that this was an illegal action! Maki slept in his kennel the entire night without any complaints or accidents and in the morning I took him with me to work.

He adjusted to the work setting quickly and loved all the people, he's quite the people dog and loves everyone!


Maki stats:

• A licensed Whippet Mix ;)
• 29.4 lbs
• Brindle and White
• 10 months or your best guess
• Short Hair

Let's review my requirements:

• Odorless : he smells fairly "doggie"
  
• Cat like : maybe a little
  
• Does not lick : Licks a lot
• Mellow but not lame : most of the time
• Housebroken...we think so far
• Not a puppy : definitely still a puppy
• Not small but not big : yes
• No barking : when we leave him alone he barks a lot :(
• Low maintenance : ha! not quite
• No shedding : he's a low shedder but he does have fur and it does come out

So as you can see he doesn't quite fit my perfect dog mold but he is a sweetheart and we love him!

We're working on the separation anxiety issue and he does well for a half an hour but past that and he becomes very barky :( We've set up two camera's to record his antics and we're sure the neighbors aren't pleased with his complaining but we hope he'll improve soon.

-Elizabeth

The Adoption Story

Tuesday February 3rd, 2009

We had been visiting the Oakland Animal Shelter since December 2008 in search of the "perfect" pooch. Elizabeth's ridiculous requirements were as follows:

- Odorless
- Cat like
- Does not lick
- Mellow but not lame
- Entertaining
- Excellently behaved
- House broken
- Not a puppy
- Not small but not big
- No barking
- Low maintenance
- No shedding

We had come across two "nearly" ideal candidates (which was determined through Petfinder.org and a 5 minute visit). However we were beat to the adoption by evil beings that were obviously not as perfect as us =). But it must have been fate that brought us to the shelter on this glorious Tuesday in search of two more candidates. Luckily we were being helped by a new volunteer who had no clue of where these dogs were being held. That is when we discovered a little brindle sweet beast. The other candidates turned out to be very young puppies and we proceeded, out of curiosity, to visit the little brindle (unnamed) beast.

During the first five minutes we witnessed a force of nature - he jumped, nipped, peed, pooped, ate grass, barked, smelled, and licked (however he was not small but not big). It was love at first sight. He proceeded to completely calm down after his wild streak and became and extremely sweet and affectionate guy (licking a lot)... we liked him!!!

We went home and discussed the possibility of adopting the medium sized, sweet, brindle candidate.


Wednesday February 4th, 2009

We hurried to the shelter after work and arrived around 6pm. We proceeded to visit the medium sized, brindle beast. The previous day we were concerned by the labeling on his information sheet which read "Pit X". Pit Bulls are one of the many breeds which are forbidden in our apartment complex. However a very knowledgeable and helpful shelter associate looked at him and determined he was no Pit mix but a Whippet mix ;) !!! His papers were corrected to more accurately reflect his heritage, and we signed his adoption. He was scheduled to be neutered and picked up the following Monday from the vet.

The next four days were spent gathering supplies, cleaning the apartment (?), doing research on dogs, and picking a name. After much deliberation we decided on a formal name for the brindle guy... "Makako". He was named after the Portuguese word for "Monkey". However we decided to nickname him "Maki" (yes, sounds like the sushi roll).

- Daniel